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Monday, December 31, 2012

2013 -- Ringing It In

Another New Years Eve is upon us. It is not one of my favorite holidays, but I can't really tell you why. It's just kind of vanilla; kind of cheeseburger.

There aren't many New Years' that stand out as exceptional when I try and recall them. There are several that I recall as being just OK, but few that rival say some of the Christmases or Fourth of July's of the past.

There was the New Years that ended up with me at Perkins with my friend and his sister. I remember it being so cold out and my 1968 Cutlass wouldn't start, so I had to pop the hood, take off the air cleaner and open the carburetor butterfly valve. It finally started, thank goodness, so I guess you could call that a good "start" to the New Year (1978-'79).

And there was the one where Donna and I had a New Year's party and it fizzled and popped because we tried to mingle 3 groups of friends and family and the mixing never quite happened. Throw on top of that starting it too early and you have an awkward celebration that you just want to end.

One of the stranger ones was the Y2K New Years when our kids (2 and 5) would not go to sleep like our friends' kids did. They ended up ringing in the New Year with us, despite our attempts to lull them to sleep so we could have our own celebration. I think we left that celebration at 12:10 AM.

There was one New Years that involved Blackberrry Brandy. Other than that, the details are fuzzy.

A couple of the better ones were when I lived on the East Side of Milwaukee. One was when Rob and Jane came out to visit for the holiday and we did the whole east side, including a trip to Wolski's Tavern on New Years day for some darts and recovery. The other was when Donna came to visit over New Years and we had a blast seeing a live band called Couch Flambeau. I remember her dropping her glove outside of Hooligans and she started giggling uncontrollably.

For some reason. I remember this moment as the one where I realized how truly, truly in love I was with her. It had something to do with the thought that we would be able to laugh together like this for the rest of my life. That I finally had a companion who loved me for who I was and who loved me more than myself. That was a good New Years revelation.

And so, tonight my wife and kids will be spending New Years Eve in the usual manner, with close friends in a low-key environment. (The same friends from the Y2K debacle, plus a few others). It may be low-key, but we wouldn't want it any other way.

Whatever your tradition is, be sure and enjoy the chance to look back on the good or not-so-good year and either relish it going away or look upon its passing with sadness.

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About Me

Jim Landwehr has two books, The Portland House: A 70's Memoir, and Dirty Shirt: A Boundary Waters Memoir, both by Electio Publishing. He also has two poetry collections, Reciting from Memory, and Written Life. He enjoys fishing, biking, kayaking and camping. He lives in Waukesha Wisconsin with his wife and two children.